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stringer bell

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Everything posted by stringer bell

  1. stringer bell
    Let's bump this again. With the fizzling of Alex Kirilloff, Santana has been a key part of this team. First base depth beyond him is pretty questionable, so one has to think this signing has worked out pretty well. In his age 38 season, Santana has remained a good defender, good against left handed pitching and league average against righties. He is one of the all-time durable players in MLB currently.
  2. stringer bell
    While the Mets got dinged for stashing in injured players on the IL, I doubt the Twins are “playing with fire” by placing a two-time TJ surgery patient on the IL with shoulder fatigue. With any measure of diminished velocity or range of motion or anything else, that should be enough.
  3. stringer bell
    Pretty good lineup in place. The lowest batting average belongs to…………Ryan Jeffers.
  4. stringer bell
    What is the extent of Larnach’s injury? He was rehabbing from a minor league IL stint when he was recalled in April, and has played in the field occasionally, but not consistently. I don’t see much discernible change in his running speed Is this something that won’t heal completely until he’s off his feet for a couple weeks? Something that will be there until it can be fixed in the off season? Larnach has been pretty good overall,, shielded almost totally from left handed pitching, hitting the ball hard while striking out much less.
  5. stringer bell
    Except for the infamous getaway day game where Farmer played shortstop (both Castro and Correa on the bench) he has started only against left handed pitching. I'm confident that the Twins don't want Lee to be only starting 25-30% of the time if they call him up. Can he outhit both Miranda and Larnach, enough to send them to the bench or St. Paul? I don't think so. Yes, they could DFA Farmer and add Lee, but even with Julien out of the argument, that doesn't provide a full-time spot for Lee IMHO.
  6. stringer bell
    Jackson’s DFA made a spot available on the 40-man roster.
  7. stringer bell
    For most of the 2020s, the Cleveland franchise has had one outstanding position player--José Ramirez--to go with their outstanding pitcher development. Ramirez could be pitched around because no one else really could hurt the opponent. That has changed to the point that Cleveland has a good offense to augment their pitching. Josh Naylor has climbed from a so-so contributor to a likely All-Star. He's hitting very well this season and has clubbed 20 homers while driving in more than 50 runs. Second baseman Andés Giménez is a solid fielder and base runner and has hot streaks. His overall numbers are so-so, but he helps the offense and is a Gold Glover at second. Utility man David Fry has unexpectedly been a major plus with the bat and played everywhere but second base and shortstop. To top it all off, leadoff man Steven Kwan has been phenomenal. He missed a couple weeks with a muscle pull, but if he had enough plate appearances, he would/will be leading the major leagues in hitting by a lot. Kwan is hitting .390--the official leader is Ohtani at .321 and is 8-10 plate appearances short of qualifying. Not only that but his on-base average is .438 and he is slugging .575. His OPS would be second to Aaron Judge and ahead of Ohtani. Kwan has also won a Gold Glove and is speedy. The Guardians now put out a good lineup which should have a minimum of three and perhaps four All-Stars.
  8. stringer bell
    I would dispute that there is a black hole at second base. Castro has done better than just fine there and from what I've seen he is a decent to good fielding second baseman. Bringing up Lee or recalling Julien would serve to put Willi back in the outfield, and that too is not a bad thing. Lee has played only a handful of games at second base. While I think he'd eventually be fine there, the lack of experience would probably show up fairly often at first. Adding another switch hitter would probably make either Margot or Farmer pretty much unneeded. Lee has been hitting well and with power from the right side in the last few games, so I don't think there is a real need to protect him from lefties.
  9. stringer bell
    Big picture: the Twins still project to be a high 80s, low 90s win team, but it is looking more and more like it is "one of those years" where everything is going Cleveland's way, so to make the postseason, the Twins will have to claim a wildcard and advance the hard way, beating a really good team in their building. The rotation has been up-and-down, but the hitting is improved. We're not quite halfway through the season, but the second quarter of the season has seen the club stay pretty healthy--they have used the IL once (Kirilloff) since the first week of May. Expect more injuries to crop up in the next quarter of the season, probably making promotions from Triple A a bit easier and based on who the player will be replacing. Paddack would seem to be the most likely to be replaced in the rotation, he's had the fewest good starts and has the worst overall statistics.
  10. stringer bell
    With Martin on the team, the pieces don't fit together quite as seamlessly. He is doing well in the role he has been given and actually it bodes well for everyday play if he can continue to more than hold his own against same-handed pitching. I'm still not sold on Margot as a platoon/fourth outfielder, but the numbers have improved.
  11. stringer bell
    It would appear Baldelli believes the L-L matchup is the one to avoid, with only Kepler getting to face a left handed reliever. There is also a perception that Farmer and Margot are better fielders than the guys who replace them..
  12. stringer bell
    Currently Arráez has a ..348 OBP, which is lower than Willi Castro.
  13. stringer bell
    A couple of disparities between the writeup and the box score--Boushley had zero walks in the box score and the report says four and Julien had a 2-5 day while the writeup says he had four hits. Boushley is doing what he can to get another chance to impress with the Twins. He's been both good and consistent, challenging Festa for the best stats in the Saints rotation. Keirsey is also doing all he can do to get a chance. I think it's a tough pull for him because Wallner, Julien and (perhaps later) Kirilloff are all on the major league (40-man) roster and may all merit another chance before he could make his major league debut. Top prospect Jenkins hasn't been blowing up for the Mussels, so maybe a big fly will get him going. Also good to see Soto with a nice outing. I know he's a long way from the majors, but he's a top prospect and it is good to see him thrive at his level. Severino has been on a real hot streak. I was afraid that he would have to be sent to AA when he struggled early, but his numbers are now acceptable after a slow start.
  14. stringer bell
    Ober's 89-pitch CG is an example of how many things have to come together. 1) Ober got a big lead in the early innings. 2) The bullpen had been overused recently, no pitcher really needed to work. 3) The Athletics were in swing-early mode from the beginning of the game and kept Ober's pitch count low. 4) Ober was sharp, throwing well over 70% strikes and was tough to hit from the get-go. Congratulations to Bailey for getting a rare complete-game victory.
  15. stringer bell
    I'm going to bump this thread again as we approach mid-season. Castro has maintained a projected 5 WAR season, while demonstrating maximum versatility. From what I can see, he is on track to play in 20+ games at five defensive positions, perhaps the first ever to do this. He has played in every game and he leads the team in plate appearances.
  16. stringer bell
    It appears that Willi will be the only person to accomplish the feat of 20 games at five defensive positions. Could he get All-Star consideration? He's a true (super) utility player putting up good numbers offensively.
  17. stringer bell
    Big Picture View. The two losses to Tampa Bay were regression to the mean. The Twins sat at 14-5 in one-run games and 3-0 in extra innings. Pretty tough to sustain that over time. The Rays got the gift runner to score in both games, but not by playing A-B-C ball, they got an error from Lewis and a hit from a guy in a terrible slump. That's the way the ball bounces. It didn't help that Correa and Lewis made errors in Saturday's game. They had good threats to score the tying run and more in their half of the tenth both days and fizzled. Again, IMHO, regression to the mean.
  18. stringer bell
    Bullpens are fragile. They can fall apart with one injury or ineffective key piece. I thought the Twins did a decent job of getting bullpen depth on the cheap over the winter, but the depth went sideways before the season even started with the injuries to Durán, Topa and Thielbar. So far, the most positive story is that Alcalá has been very good and the second best is that Staumont could assume a high-leverage role (great so far in limited sample size and mostly low leverage). The disappointments have been Thielbar, Jackson, and the injury to Topa. I'm neutral on Sands and Okert--they shouldn't be back-end guys, but everyone gets a chance at some point.
  19. stringer bell
    I don't think Wallner's recent production can be totally dismissed, but I'm not totally sold that he is back to what he was last year. Seventeen homers at AAA is a good number, pIarticularly because he wasn't optioned until the middle of April. Lee seems to be swinging it very well. There is an open 40-man spot so he could be promoted without losing anyone currently on the 40-man. It looks like second base would be the position available for him to step in and that would put a roadblock on Julien. Having Julien (2B-1B), Miranda (1B-3B), Lee (2B-SS-3B), Correa (SS) and Lewis for 2025 and on would be a strong, deep, versatile infield.
  20. stringer bell
    I agree that OPS is a pretty simple down-and-dirty way to look at offensive production. It isn't perfect, but no stat is IMHO. OPS probably underrates guys who get on base, but this year because of his declining walk rate, Arráez isn't elite. Luis' OBP is .351 which is lower than Willi Castro. The low slugging negates most of the good OBP and then we can look at defensive deficiencies and base running, neither of which make Arráez look like a better player. Not to pile on, but he's grounded into 13 double plays this season, which roughly projects to 30 in a season. So far, Arráez hasn't missed significant time with injuries, so in conjunction with hitting at the top of the lineup he is racking up counting stats, including leading the league in hits. Arráez is a unique and interesting player, but he isn't as big a difference maker as many on his current team or his first team. If he is elected an All-Star, good for him, but that doesn't make him a more valuable player.
  21. stringer bell
    Ichiro mostly hit singles, but was a Gold Glove outfielder with a great arm. He was also a force on the base paths. Not an apt comp for Arráez.
  22. stringer bell
    I made some similar comments about Arráez in this thread--https://twinsdaily.com/forums/topic/67393-how-valuable-is-a-unicorn/#comment-1403627 I think, at a much younger age, he has become what Carew and Gwynn became--singles hitters who played a corner and didn't have much power. That said, in today's game, Luis Arráez stands out for his bat-to-ball skills and he might win a whole bunch of batting titles. It takes a lot of singles to win games. I also noted that Arráez' walk rate is down considerably. His overall OBP is still good, but not elite (28th in MLB). On the basis of his play this year, he shouldn't be an All-Star. Finally, I'm reading between the lines a bit, but the Twins traded Arráez after he didn't settle and went through the arbitration process. The Marlins also went through the process with him and he is making over $10M, so there seems to be a disconnect between what Luis thinks he's worth and what front offices are willing to pay him. The surest two ways to up the chances of being traded are to be a union rep or take the club to arbitration.
  23. stringer bell
    The Twins are on a six-game winning streak and moved into the #2 wildcard spot last night. Let's not bicker about whether someone is whining or not.
  24. stringer bell
    The Giants won the pennant in '51, but lost the World Series. They won the pennant in SF in '62, but lost to the Yankees in seven games. Willie was only on one world champion.
  25. stringer bell
    I'll say it again, I've been a huge Kirilloff fan since he broke in. I certainly think his previous injuries figure in with trying to tough it out with an injury. Further, I wonder how much he thinks the organization is really in his corner. I read somewhere that he had an MRI in May. Did the club know? I do know that this is the fourth time (wrist twice, shoulder and now back) where he's performed poorly and then gone on the IL. As others have said, it is not a good look.
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